STATUARY (end)

The themes of mother and child are common in African art. We can see here fascinating maternity scenes in the arts of Benin or Congo Brazaville or of Zaire and Togo. In this art, and as underlined very well by R. P. MVENG (Art d'Afrique Noire Paris - MAME 1964), the woman appears as an expression of beauty. She is a ''mine'' of beauty for the realities of nature. Propositions here are linked to an important nation and significance.

Royalty is also one characteristic of those societies. One perceives here a strong sense of social organisation in those kingdoms which have brought up this grandiose art. The vitality of Bamoun dynasties, Tikar or Bamileke, has made this art a real foundation of Cameroonian cultural patrimony, under the influence of these dynasties, just as in Athens in Pericles' time or in Egypt in the Pharaos' time. These wooden statues show the humanism of traditional societies and the power and influence of dynasties.

There are also bronze statues of which the most significant come from the collection of Petit Musée du Mont-Febe. They are of a rare finishness, which makes them comparable to those of IFE. The ''lost wax'' technique is well known among the Tikar populations, the Bamoun and Bamileke. In our days, the artisans of Bamoun, Bamileke and Bamenda go on producing bronze objects which continue to show the vitality of its people and its art.